LITMIR.BIZ

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proud of it,” Elena replied, a certain determined gleam in her eyes. Mercy knew that gleam. It meant trouble. She would trust her sister with her very life. But she should never have been so stupid as to tell Elena about kissing Luke—and liking it. “I have an idea,” Elena announced. “And don’t look at me like that. It’s a killer idea. Saturday night. You and me. We’re going to Armadillo Rose. And we are going to dance and do us a few shooters and have a fine time.”

      Armadillo Rose was a great local bar in Southtown, a few miles north of where Mercy lived. They had live music on the weekends and the bartenders were all female and expected to be outgoing, willing to jump up and dance on the bar. It was owned and run by Corrine Lonnigan—which was why Elena had that gleam in her eye. Luke’s brother, Matt, was the father of Corrine’s only child. From what Mercy had heard, Matt and Corrine got along great, though they had never married. And Matt’s brothers and sisters were always welcome at Corrine’s bar.

      “Oh, no,” said Mercy.

      “Oh, yes,” said Elena. “Don’t give me any arguments. We are going.”

      “If you have plans to hook me up with Luke, you’re destined for disappointment.”

      “We’ll see about that.”

      “Come on. What’s the chance he shows up there the same night we do? Very small.”

      “See? Nothing to worry about, then. We’ll have a good time and you won’t have to make a choice between what you want to do and what Mami and Papi expect of you.”

      Luke kept thinking of Mercy.

      Of the taste of her soft lips, the smell of her skin. It was damn distracting when he had a horse ranch to run and an estate to manage. More than once in the days right after that night in the barn, he would find himself staring into space when he should have been going over the oil leases or concentrating on the early training of a valuable foal. He checked on Candyman often, watching that stitched-up ear real close. Once or twice, he half-wished that ear would get infected so he would have to call Mercy back before her scheduled visit the following week. A man was in big trouble when he wished his prize stallion ill.

      He knew he needed to get her off his mind, needed to get out and get himself some feminine companionship. Someone pretty and sweet and not a Cabrera.

      His brother Caleb dropped by Saturday evening. Caleb was a salesman by nature and profession, the top producer at the family company, BravoCorp. He could sell a homeless man a bedroom set. Their dad was always offering him a management position. Caleb didn’t want to manage anything. He thrived on sales. He had a moody Balkan housekeeper named Irina and a new girlfriend every night.

      The brothers had dinner together in the main dining room at the long mahogany table that could seat the whole family during holiday celebrations.

      “It’s lonely in here with the just the two of us.” Caleb glanced around at the heavy, carved furniture, the three crystal chandeliers dangling from the twelve-foot ceiling and the striped silk wallpaper. “We should have eaten in the kitchen or out in the sunroom.”

      Luke shrugged and sipped his wine and ordered the image of a just-kissed Mercy to get the hell out of his head. “It’s fine.”

      His brother looked at him sideways. “You seem distracted. Something on your mind?”

      “Not a thing.”

      They ate in silence for a few minutes. Then Caleb set down his fork. “It’s too damn quiet. Let’s go out.”

      Maybe that wasn’t such a bad idea. He might meet someone. Get his thoughts off Phineas Brewer’s new associate. “Like where?”

      Caleb pushed back his chair and tossed his napkin down beside his half-finished plate. “Who knows? We get in the car and we drive. We see someplace interesting, we stop. We keep our options open. It’s more fun that way.”

      Since Bravo Ridge was on the southwestern edge of the Hill Country, they went north first, and found a dance hall in Bandera. They had a couple of beers and danced the two-step with a pair of secretaries down from Austin for the weekend. Luke wasn’t exactly enjoying himself. The girl he danced with was a pretty little blonde wearing too much perfume. The point was to get his mind off Mercy, but instead, he found himself making comparisons. The blonde did not come out ahead.

      Around nine-thirty, Caleb tapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s move on.”

      Luke tipped his hat to the blonde and followed his brother out. They got back into Caleb’s brand-new black pearl Audi R8 and rolled the windows down as they raced along a couple of twisty ranch roads, finally meeting up with I-10, and heading south toward San Antonio. By the time they got to Southtown, Luke had figured out where his brother was taking him.

      Caleb swung into the packed parking lot.

      “There.” Luke pointed at a pickup that was just pulling out. Caleb eased into the free space and killed the powerful engine. They could hear the music from the rambling tin-sided building. A big neon armadillo with a red rose tucked behind its ear graced the place of honor over the wide main doors.

      Caleb winked at him. “I’m in a mood to kiss Corrine and watch a pretty woman dancin’ on the bar.”

      Elena laughed as she slid back into the chair across from Mercy. Her cheeks were flushed and her brown eyes shone. She’d danced just about every dance since they claimed their table an hour before.

      Mercy had danced, too, though not as often as her baby sister. And she’d had a Corona and a shot of Cuervo Gold. She had a slight buzz on and she should have been happy. She was out with Elena and the music was good. And there was very little chance Luke Bravo would come strolling through the big double doors.

      “You look sad.” Elena flipped a shining coil of hair back over her shoulder and put on an exaggerated frown.

      “I’m not,” Mercy lied. “I’m having a great time.” She raised her Corona and took a sip.

      Elena’s expression brightened. “Well, cheer up, mi hermana. All your dreams just came true.” Mercy followed the direction of Elena’s gaze.

       Luke.

      He’d just come in with one of his brothers. Incredible. She’d been so sure she was safe, that he would never show up while she and Elena were there.

      She turned back to her sister. Fast. “I don’t believe this is happening.”

      “Believe it.” Elena beamed. “And smile. They’re coming this way.”

      Caleb nudged Luke in the ribs and leaned close to be heard above the music. “Over there. That’s the Cabrera sisters, I’m sure of it.”

      Luke turned his head slowly. Mercy had her back to him. But he could see Elena. And he would have known Mercy, anyway. Anytime. Anywhere. Already, he’d memorized the shape of her shoulders, the exact color and texture of her crow-black hair, which was loose and softly curling down her back.

      He should turn around and leave. Now. Just march the hell out of there.

      Caleb had other ideas. “We ought to be friendly, don’t you think? I mean, what’s the point of all that old animosity? Let’s go say hi to them.”

      “What the hell for?” Luke growled. But Caleb already had hold of his arm and was dragging him across the scuffed wood plank floor. Luke dug in his heels. “What we ought to do is leave them alone.”

      Caleb hesitated. “I just want to say hello.”

      “Forget it. Let’s get a drink, say hi to Corrine.”

      “You can relax.” Elena’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “They went over to the bar, after all.”

      Relax? Impossible. Mercy’s heart beat so hard, she felt faintly sick. She wanted to leave. And she also wanted to get up and go to him, to pull his mouth

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